ECONOMY: Hospital supply firm wins SW business award

Professional Hospital Supply, a Temecula-based business that furnishes sterile medical items to hospitals and clinics in a half-dozen Western states, received the Signature Award from the Economic Development Corp. of Southwest California at the groupâs annual luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 15.

The company, an independent woman-owned business, was founded more than 30 years ago and has been headquartered in Temecula since 1987. It is a major employer in southwest Riverside County and a frequent contributor to charitable endeavors and fundraising in the area.

Professional Hospital Supply was one of three companies nominated for the Signature Award. The others were power management technology company International Rectifier and the Lake Elsinore Storm baseball team.

Optiforms was the winner of the EDCâs Most Innovative Award. The Temecula-based manufacturer uses technology to develop electroformed metal coatings for a number of products, using computerized designs and high-resolution machining technologies.

The Best Emerging Business Award went to Loma Linda University Medical Center, which opened its Murrieta campus in April 2011. The hospital provided needed medical care options for Southwest Riverside County and its campus will eventually employ 1,000 people.

Prudhomme Associates CPAs received the Premier Economic Partner Award. The full-service accounting firm has been in business in Temecula for more than 25 years and has a customer base that runs from individuals to small businesses and larger corporations. Also, Prudhomme Associates has done the Southwest EDCâs accounting work for free for 20 years.

The EDC is an economic development organization that provides support to existing business while looking for ways to foster new business development in the region. Guest speaker Stephen Wood, an economist and chief market strategist for global asset management firm Russell Investments, told the luncheon crowd that itâs still a very questionable economy given the ongoing political debate.

âPeace of mind is overpriced. Itâs really expensive,â Wood told the audience at the South Coast Winery.

The government is looking to reform its tax codes and address budget concerns, and Wood said itâs really the end of a quarter-century span that saw almost every expense put on the federal governmentâs credit card. Itâs a difficult situation, he said, because itâs hard to recover from a severe recession by drastically reducing spending, something he said European governments are learning the hard way.

Itâs also sort of the end of an economic era for consumers and corporations, who are not buying on credit either. Consumers are spending less because the baby boomers spent heavily, and companies have made their balance sheets healthier by hoarding cash.

âCompanies are asking about taxes, regulations, job-related costs, and they think, when in doubt, hoard,â Wood said.

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